Printing-block-adjusting machine



No. 770,543. PATENTED SEPT. 20, 1904.

I W. D. suow.

PRINTING BLOCK ADJUSTING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 2, 1904. N0 MODEL; 3 sums-sum 1.

' F/GJ Q PATBNTED SEPT. 20, 1904.

W. D. SNOW. PRINTING BLOGK ADJUSTING MACHINE.

APPLIOATIOH FILED JUNE 2, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

3 SHEETS-S [NYE/(T01? @1 A9 SW "Tommy.

No. 770,543. PATENTED SEPT. 2014904.

vw. D. SNOW. I

PRINTING BLOCK ADJUSTING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 2, 1904. N0 MODEL; s SHEBTS-SHEET a.

:III IIIIIIIIIIA INVENTOR ,4 TTORIIEY.

UNITED STATES Patented September 20, 1904.

WILLIAM D. SNOW, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PRlNTlNG-BLOCK-ADJUSTINGl MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters P81 111 NO- 770,543, dated. September 20, 1904.

Application filed June 2, 1904. serial No. 210,816. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, WILLIAM D. SNOW, of the city and county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have inventedan Improvement in Printing-Block-Adjusting Machines,

' of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention has reference to machines for adjusting printing-blocks to heads of machines for printing linoleum, oil cloth, &c.; and it consists of certain improvements, which are fully set forth in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

Heretofore great difficu'lty has been experienced in adjusting the printing-blocks upon the heads of the printing-machines employed in printing linoleum and oil-cloth, with the result that a very considerable increase in cost' of printing has been incurred from loss of it would hardly pay to print small orders, and

because of the loss of the use of the machine during the tedious changing and adjusting of the numerous printing-blocks the cost of printing the fabric is necessarily higher than it should be.

The object of my invention is to overcome the above objections by providing a specialmachine upon which the printing-blocksmay be adjusted upon a duplicate set of heads during the normal operation of the printing-machine in its work upon another pattern, the

said heads and attached blocks being quickly.

ing in investment in machinery, buildings, and

5 labor.

1 Inembodying my invention into practice I chine. Fig. 3 1s a cross-section of a portlon of same blocks on the head, whereby the adjustment that when transferred to the printing-machine they shall be in exact position for perfect printing.

My invention also comprehends details 0 construction, which, together with the above features, will be better understood by reference to thedrawings, in which Figure l is a plan view of my. improved ma- Fig. 2 is a side elevation of same.

on line 3 3 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4: is a cross-section on line 4 4: of Fig. 1.

p A is the main frame of the machine and has the guide-rails B B arranged at a distance apart.

1 provide a support for the head of the printing-machine and combine therewith a track- 1 Way and a test-carriage adapted to be moved upon the trackway and across the printingof the several printing-blocks may be accu- 'rately adjusted and secured tothe head, so

C C are two standards extending upward I above the rails and support the printing-block head E, which is provided with downwardlyextending ends 6, having transverse holes, said ends fitting into the slotted upper ends 0 of the standards and secured therein by pins F, which are the means of attachment of the head to the standards and also for bringing itv into proper relative adjustment with the rails B B accurateprintingit becomes necessary to have the lower faces or printing; surfaces of the blocks in perfect alinement in the same plane, and this is secured by either interposing spacing layers between the block and supportingframes or by rubbing down the printing-face of the block, as desired. 4

J is a transversely-arranged carriage and is provided with supporting-wheels K, which run upon the tracks B. This carriage is furnished with a transverse color-roller L, which is adapted to apply color to the under surfaces of the printing-blocks I. It is desirable to cause said rollers L to rotate during the travel of the carriage. and to do this I provide a system of gearing adapted to make the color-applying roller rotate inversely with a surface speed equal to the travel of the carriage, so as to prevent any sliding motion over the printing-block. In this way the apparatus conforms exactly to the conditions of the printing-machine and insures all adjustments being made in accordance with the actual requirements of the printing-machine itself.

The gearing mentioned above consists of a spur-gear M on the end of the roller L, a gear 0 on the carriage and meshing with a rack N on the main frame parallel to the rail B, and intermediate gears P P, connecting the gears O and M and causing the former to rotate in the proper direction. The gears P P are journaled in a frame R, pivoted concentrically with the axis of the roller L, so as to maintain gear connection with gear M, while having capacity for being put into or out of mesh with gear O.- Any other form of gearing may be employed in lieu of that shown, if so desired, or gearing may be dispensed with altogether, and the color-applying device may be made in any other suitable manner.

The gear 0 is secured to the end of the axles P of the carriage, and a similar gear on the opposite end of said shaft meshing with a second rack N insures the travel of the carriage being uniform at both sides of the ma chine. The other axle may also be provided with gears meshing with the same racks N N, if so desired.

When the various parts of the apparatus are in the relation shown, the strains due to gravity will put them into the same condition .which will normally be had in the printingmachine, and consequently such adjustments as may be made to the printing-blocks I upon their supporting-frames and head will exactly meet the'requirements of the printing-machine.

It will now be seen that while the printingmachine is in operation on one pattern the printing-blocks of another pattern may be adjusted and secured in position upon a duplicate set of heads E, (one for each col'or,') so that all that is necessary is to remove one set of heads and substitute another with the newlyadjus'ted printing-blocks upon them. In this manner the printing-machine is out of actual operation only a very short period of time, and the great losses heretofore experienced are thereby overcome.

To facilitate the handling of the heads E,

they are provided with the trunnions (1' on their ends, which may be received in hooks S of a traveling crane. When the heads are to be removed, the transverse pins F are driven out to release the head from the standards C.

If desired, the standards may be formed with an upper jointed portion U, hinged to the lower part at G and normally locked in upright position by clamp G". hen the clamp is released, the-head E may be turned over to examine the application of color to the-under surfaces of the blocks I and to ascertain what further adjustment may be necessary.

In the machine as shown the color is applied to the roller L with a pad by hand; but it is evident that it may be applied in any other manner preferred.

The reciprocating movcmentof the carriage J is byhand; but I do not confine myself to hand adjustment.

It is evident that while I have arranged the head E above and the color-roller below, as in the case of the normal construction of printing-machines, I do not limit myself to this arrangement, as the parts may equally be inverted, while maintaining the same relative conditions.

Vhile I prefer the construction shown, 1 do not confine myself to the details, as they may be modified without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for adjusting printingblocks on heads to be used on printing-uni chines, the combination of a guideway, a support for the head for holdingit and its attached printing-blocks in fixed relation against vertical movement to the guideway, and a traveling carriage adapted to move on the guidew'ay and provided with a color-carrying surface to apply color to the printing-blocks to indicate the extent of the adjustment required.

2. In a machine for adjusting printingblocks on heads to be used on printing-niachines, the combination of a guideway having racks, a support for the head for holding it and its attached printing-blocks in fixed relation against vertical movement to the guideway, and a traveling carriage adapted to move on the guideway and provided with gearing meshing with the racks to insure both ends of the carriage moving at the same speed, and a color-carrying surface carried by the carriage to apply color to the printing-blocks to indicate the extent of the adjustment required.

3. In a machine for adjusting printingblocks on heads to be used on prii'iting-machines, the combination of a guide\ ay, a support for the head for holding it and its attached printing-blocks in fixed relation against vertical movement to the guideway, a traveling carriage adapted to move on the guideway,

means on the carriage and guideway for causmg the carriage to move at same speed'at both ends, and a color-carrying roller to apply color 'to the printing-blocks to indicate the extent of the, adjustment required. 4:; In a machine for adjusting printingblocks on heads to be used on printing-machines, the combination of a guideway, a support for the head forholding it and its attached printing-blocks in fixed relation against vertical movement to the guideway, a traveling carriage adapted to moveon the guideway, means for causing the carriage to move at same speed at both ends, consisting of racks on the guideway and connected gearing on the carriage, a color-carrying roller to apply color to the printing-blocks to indicate the extent of the adjustment required, and means to rotate the color-carrying roller inversely to the direction of movement of the carriage.

tical movement to the guideway, a travelingcarriage adapted to move on the guideway, means for causing the carriage to move at same speed at both ends consisting of racks on the guideway and connected gearing on the carriage, a color-carrying roller to apply color to the printing-blocks to indicate the extent of the adjustment required, and means to rotate the color-carrying roller inversely to the direction of movement of the carriage consist' ing of a gear on the roller and connecting adjustable gearing between said gear and the gear of the carriage. j

' 6. In a machine for adjusting printingblocks on heads'to be used on printing-machines, the combination of a guideway, a support for the head for holding it and its attached printing-blocks in fixed relation to the guideway, a traveling carriage adapted to move on the guideway, means for causing the carriageto move at same speed at both ends consisting of racks on the guideway and connected gearing on the carriage, a color-carrying'roller to apply color to the printing-blocks to indicate the extent of the adjustment required, means to rotate the color-carrying roller inversely to the direction of movement of the carriage consisting of a gear on the roller and connecting-gearing between said gear and the gear of the carriage, and means for putting said connecting-gearing into or out of operation.

7 In a machine for adjusting printingblocks on heads to be used on printing-machines, the combination of a guideway, a sup tached printing-blocks in fixed relation against vertical movement to the guideway consisting offixed standards having recessed ends into which lugs on the head fit, removable transverse pins passing through the lugs to detachably hold the head at a fixed distance from the guideway, and a removable carriage for the guideway having a part to gage the position of the printing-blocks on the head.

8. In a machine for adjusting printingblocks on heads to be used on printing-machines, the combination of a guideway, a support for the head for holding it and its attached printing-blocks in fixed relation against vertical movement't'o the guideway consisting of fixed standards provided with hinged upper portions having recessed upper ends into which lugs on the head fit, removabletransverse pins passing through the lugs to detachably hold thehead at a fixed distance above the guideway, and a movable carriage for the guideway having a part to gage the position of the printing-blocks on the head.

9. In a machine for adjusting printingblocks on heads to be used on printing-ma chines, the combination of a guideway, a support for the head for holding it and its attached printing-blocks in fixed relation to the guideway consisting of jointed standards for permitting the headand its printing-blocks to be turned over for inspection, and a movable carriage for the guideway having a part to gag; the position of the printing-blocks on the hea 10. In a machine for adjusting printingblocks on heads to be used on printing-machines, the combination of a guideway, a support for the head for holding it and its at tached printing-blocks in fixed relation against vertical movement to the guideway, and a movable gage device movable'over the guideway having a transverse part to gage the position of the several "printing-blocks on the head. Y

11. In a machine for adjusting printingblocks on heads to be used on printing-machines, a head having a series of printing blocks, and agage device for gaging the po-' sition of the printing-blocks on the'head and having a transverse relative movement with respect to the head, and supports for the head and gage device for holding'said parts at a definite fixed distanceapart.

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my hand.

. D SNOW. Witnesses:

R. M. HUNTER, R. M. KELLY. 

